For two years, Ares Gallo has been ransacking the galaxy for the woman who meant everything to him. They trained together, killed together, loved together, but now, Anicka Dekker doesn't even know who he is. All she knows every time she meets the enigmatic, scarred stranger is that a part of her trusts him. An even larger part desires him. In any and every way she can have him. Ares wants his wife back. Despite the scars that have changed his appearance and the chronic pain that destroyed his career, he follows Anicka from planet to planet, finding her in seedy bars, stately palaces, and everywhere in between. Every time they have a few moments of pure bliss, his hope blooms that this time…things will be different. Then, STRIKE, the organization that wanted them dead, tears them apart, erasing Anicka's memories, and Ares has to start all over again. But even if she can't remember him, he's certain she'll recognize their bond. Sooner or later.

Across the Universe

“He lays me down in the water,” she said softly. “My hair floats. I complain that it tickles, and he runs his fingers through it and drags it over my breast.” For a moment, her gaze slid sideways. “I think he prefers it long.”


Ares caught a lock of hair between his finger and thumb and gently tested the texture against his skin. She tilted her head, moving into his touch. She had once worn it down to her waist. It always looked darker when she let it grow, like pure copper. “I think you’d look amazing with longer hair.”


“That’s because you don’t have to take care of it.” She sighed. “But I like it when he touches it. And touches me. He acts like I’m the most beautiful thing he’s ever seen, even though we’re in this gorgeous pool. But he is. And he doesn’t even know it.”


Chapter 21